AP Bio Quiz Ch 24 Community Ecology

Plants have evolved various defense mechanisms to protect themselves from being eaten by animals, particularly insects. Spines act as physical deterrents, making it difficult for animals to approach or consume the plant. Chemical poisons, on the other hand, can be toxic to animals, causing them to avoid or become ill after consuming the plant. These defense mechanisms help plants to survive and reproduce by reducing the chances of being preyed upon by animals, hence the statement is true.

Human intervention in natural community interactions can disrupt the delicate balance and dynamics of the ecosystem. While some interventions may aim to restore or enhance stability, they often have unintended consequences. Human activities such as habitat destruction, pollution, introduction of invasive species, and overexploitation of resources can lead to ecological imbalances and instability within the community. Therefore, it is more likely that human intervention makes the community less stable rather than more stable.

Predation refers to the interaction between two species where one species, the predator, feeds on the other species, the prey. This relationship is characterized by the predator hunting, capturing, and consuming the prey for its own survival and energy needs. It is a key ecological process that helps regulate population sizes and maintain the balance within ecosystems. Unlike competition, which involves species competing for limited resources, predation is a more direct and predatory relationship where one species benefits at the expense of the other. Predation plays a crucial role in shaping the structure and dynamics of ecosystems.

A number of populations of different species interacting with one another is called a community. In a community, multiple species coexist and interact with each other in a given area. This interaction can be through various ecological relationships such as competition, predation, and symbiosis. However, the term "community" specifically refers to the collective interaction of different species within an ecosystem, rather than any specific type of interaction.

The statement is false because bacteria living in the human digestive tract and producing vitamins are not parasitic organisms. Parasitic organisms typically harm their host, while these bacteria provide a beneficial function by producing vitamins that are used by the human body. Therefore, they can be described as symbiotic organisms rather than parasitic.

Symbiosis refers to a close and long-term relationship between two different species, in which both species benefit from each other's presence. This relationship often involves co-evolution and adaptation, as the species involved develop specific traits or behaviors to enhance their mutual survival and reproduction. Examples of symbiotic relationships include mutualism, where both species benefit, commensalism, where one species benefits without harming the other, and parasitism, where one species benefits at the expense of the other. Therefore, symbiosis is the most appropriate answer in this context.

The fundamental niche refers to all the conditions and resources in which an organism could potentially survive and reproduce without any limitations or competition. It includes the full range of physical and biological factors that an organism could exploit. In contrast, the realized niche is the actual set of conditions and resources that an organism occupies and utilizes in the presence of competition and other constraints. Resource partitioning refers to the division of resources among different species to reduce competition. Therefore, the best fit for the given question is fundamental niche, as it encompasses all possible conditions for an organism's survival and reproduction.

The realized niche refers to the actual conditions in which an organism exists in nature. It takes into account factors such as competition, predation, and resource availability. It represents the portion of the fundamental niche that the organism actually occupies due to these limiting factors. The realized niche may be smaller than the fundamental niche, as organisms may not be able to fully exploit all available resources in their environment.

Viruses are considered obligate intracellular parasites because they cannot replicate or carry out metabolic processes outside of a host cell. They rely on the host cell's machinery to reproduce and survive. Therefore, it is true to say that viruses are always parasites.

As you move from the equator to the poles, the number of mammalian species increases. This is because the equator has a warmer climate and more diverse habitats, which provide favorable conditions for a greater variety of species to thrive. As you move towards the poles, the climate becomes colder and less diverse, resulting in fewer suitable habitats for mammalian species. Therefore, the number of mammalian species tends to decrease as you move away from the equator.